5-star EDGE once again hints he might end up flipping to South Carolina

As Shane Beamer and the South Carolina Gamecocks fight to keep their heads above water in the regular season, the team received yet another hint that the No. 1 edge rusher in the class of 2026 is keeping an eye on their program.

Zion Elee, a five-star EDGE who is currently committed to the Maryland Terrapins, posted a picture from his recent official visit with the Gamecocks, fueling rumors that he would flip his commitment before all was said and done.

Elee, who is a Maryland native, committed to the Terps back in December of 2024, but has done everything but shut down his recruitment since then.

With visit after visit (both official and unofficial), Elee has travelled the country, making sure he checks out every possible program that is interested in him. At the end of October, those visits took him to Columbia, SC, where he reportedly had a great time with the Gamecocks.

Could Shane Beamer land first 5-star from class of 2026?

Currently, On3 and Rivals give the Terrapins just a 3.4 percent chance to cement Elee's commitment to their program, despite him announcing his decision nearly a year ago.

So, it appears as though it's open season to try to poach Elee from Maryland's upcoming class. However, the recruiting site also gives the Oregon Ducks an 86.3 percent chance to land the five-star prospect, virtually knocking everyone else out of the contest.

Yet, South Carolina is a world of a lot closer to Elee's home in Baltimore than Oregon is, and the recency bias of the EDGE's visit undeniably weighs in the Gamecocks' favor.

So far, Beamer has landed the No. 17 class of 2026 in the country, earning South Carolina the No. 8 spot in the SEC rankings. The addition of Elee, who would become the Gamecocks' first five-star commit in the cycle, would go miles for Beamer's recruiting efforts.

As of now, South Carolina's class of 2026 is headlined by four-star interior offensive lineman Darius Gray, four-star defensive lineman Aiden Harris, four-star quarterback Landon Duckworth, and four-star safety J'Zavien Currence.